History of Coos County, New Hampshire, Part 74

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1194

USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > History of Coos County, New Hampshire > Part 74

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Lewis Loomis died October 18, 1869. His children were Rollin, who died unmarried; Eliza, who married Alger Baldwin; Martha, who married Cornelius Adams: Marion, who married Lyman W. Alger. and James Lewis Loomis, who married Martha Hall. Anna Loomis, the third child of Joseph Loomis, married Heman Beach. Horace Loomis, the fourth child, lived on the home farm with his father. Betsey Loomis, the fifth child, married Dr. Lyman Lombard, and was a woman much loved by all who knew her. William Loomis, the youngest child of Joseph Loomis, is still living at the age of eighty-five years. He married Harriet Thompson, as before stated, and hand in hand they have nearly reached the decline of life. Their children are Maria E., wife of John L. Harvey; Helen M., wife of Sumner Cummings: Edwin, who married Ellen Folsom; Anson, who married Sarah Garfield, and Harriet Isabel, who married Preston Claflin.

Mention has already been made of Mark Aldrich, who married Lydia Terry, in connection with a sketch of Hosea Aldrich. Mark had a large family, twelve children in all: Mark. Jr .. George, Artemas, Aurilla, Alpheus, Jonathan Northum. Hosea, Jacob Terry, Lydia, Horatio Nel- son, Mary Tevey, and Charles. Mark, Jr., married Polly Lovering. and, till his death, lived on the farm now owned by T. G. Rowan, near John Brackett's. George married Sarah Morrison. In 1799 he with his father moved on to the farm owned by him as well as George at the time of their respective deaths. He was born November 21, 1796, and died August 31,

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

1883. He left one daughter, Mahala, now the widow of Hezekiah B. Par- sons. Artemas married one Keziah Rowe, of Eddington, Me., where he lived and died. Aurilla died unmarried. Alpheus married Isabel Amy, and for many years lived on the farm southeast of the factory, now occu- pied by his son, Schuyler H. He had also two other sons, Samuel, who was drowned, and Mark, who died several years ago. Jonathan lived and died in Bradford, Me. Hosea married Electa Barnes, and a sketch of him will be found in the church history. His children were Ezra, now a physi- cian in Manchester; Melinda, unmarried, and Persis who married Charles Huntoon. Jacob married and lived in some place in Maine. Lydia married Samuel McMahon, and is still living at Eddington, Me. Horatio married Adaline French, and is still living at Bradford, Me. Mary T. married a man by the name of Nichols, and died at Bradford, Me. Charles mar- ried Lydia Hathorn, and died in Maine. He had one child, Charles S., who runs the drug store in Colebrook.

Benjamin Whittemore was another of the strong men among the early settlers of Colebrook. He was born at Rumford, Me., January, 1799. He came to Colebrook soon after he became of age, when he married Almira, daughter of Joseph Chandler. He first lived for a time on the Joseph Covill farm near John Brackett's, afterwards on the John F. Gould farm in the Reed district, and, later, he moved to the farm now occupied by Sidney B. Whittemore, where he lived till his decease. He was one of those men who was a peacemaker among the neighbors, being often chosen to arbitrate matters of dispute. He was frequently selectman, and repre- sentative from Colebrook in 1839, 1840, 1855 and 1856. He left two sons, Harvey, unmarried, and Sidney B., who married Emeline Corbett. Sidney B. Whittemore has been selectman several years, collector, county treasurer, and is at present a member of the board of agriculture and one of the trus- tees of the State Agricultural college. He represented the town in 1885.

John F. Gould was born at Guilford, Vt., October 14, 1799. He lived there and at Norwich, Vt., till 1834, when he removed to Colebrook, to the old farm in the Reed district. He died April 15, 1887. He had four child-

ren. all settled in Colebrook: Hannah, wife of John Brackett, Ellen A., wife of Joseph Y. Keazer, James A. Gould, who married Helen Fletcher, and John Gould, who married Julia L. Gamsby.

Noah Cummings, son of Adams and Leah Hubbard Cummings, was born September 3. 1810, in Lyndon, Vt., and came to this town in 1828. He married Almira J. Kidder, March 13, 1837, who was born in Bristol, N. H., February 4, 1813. He commenced farming on the farm now occupied by Milton Harriman, and lived there till his death, which took place Febru- ary 6, 1860. He left two children, Daniel E. and Elvira Cummings. Daniel E. was in trade with H. C. Young, as Young & Cummings, from 1870 to 1873, was representative of Colebrook in 1874 and 1875, and has been town

623

TOWN OF COLEBROOK.

clerk since June 12, 1882. He married Lucy A. Eceleston, of Rocks Brook, R. I., July 13, 1874. Elvira, the daughter, married Milton Harriman. November 9, 1882.

Samuel Harriman was born at Bridgewater, N. H., November 8, 1814, and moved to Stewartstown in 1820. After a few years he came to Cole- brook and engaged in farming, and afterwards in the starch business. Hle cleared the Asa Noyes farm on the " Harvey Swell." He married Eunice Gould, daughter of Augustine Gould, March 29, 1843.

Daniel G. Hutchinson came from Lyndeborough in 1819 and settled in Colebrook. His first wife was Nancy Capen, from Stewartstown, and his second, Eliza Blodgett, daughter of Marcena Blodgett. For many years he lived on the Shattuck farm, and was a prominent citizen, holding several town offices His son, Erasmus D. Hutchinson, was born December 7, 1823, and has always made Colebrook his home. He was in trade a few years, has been town clerk, and represented Colebrook in the legislature of 1863. He calls himself a farmer, but the amount of land he tills is small. and the sweat of his brow is easily wiped away. His independent means enable him to take life easily.

Benjamin R. Gilman is another of Colebrook's hard-working farmers. . He was born in Columbia, April 16, 1834. During the building of the Boston. Concord & Montreal railroad he worked at Haverhill, for W. H. Smith. He commenced clerking for James A. Pitkin, September. 1853, staying with him three years, and then went into company with him as " Pitkin & Gilman," remaining in trade till 1863, when he retired. He lives on the old Albert Pitkin farm at Factory Village. and for a number of years has been also engaged in the starch business. He married R. A. Pitkin, February 3, 1858, and they have one daughter, Annie Gilman. Their home is a most pleasant one, and "Ben " is one of those happy dis- positioned persons who makes himself a favorite with everybody. A. staunch Republican, he uses the most potent and plausible arguments to bring others to his way of thinking, and, generally, with good success.

Jonas Rolfe has already been mentioned incidentally in these pages. He was born at Lyme, March 26, 1793. He married Martha P. Sloan, May 3, 1819, and came to Colebrook in 1820. He was town clerk from 1823 to 1826, and again from 1837 to 1859 inclusive, and was representative of the town in 1857 and 1858. He was treasurer several years about 1525. Mr. Rolfe was a well educated man for those days, and kept school several terms in the old school-house on the bank of the Mohawk. He was a first- class teacher, holding the reins very firmly. In later years he acted as justice of the peace in trying nearly all the cases coming within his juris- diction in this part of the county. Of a stern and rather unyielding dispo- sition, he had rigid ideas of justice, and his decisions generally stood. He was a first-class mechanic, and could make or mend anything from a

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

threshing-machine to a French clock. His work on the houses which he finished was the perfection of a carpenters' art. Jonas Rolfe died October 27, 1865, and Mrs. Rolfe, April 20, 1865. They left six children who had reached adult life. Mariel W. Rolfe, born July 17, 1822, died unmarried, January 15, 1873. William Smith Rolfe, born December 17, 1824. He married Lois Hobart. The next child was Mary E. Rolfe, who married George S. Leavitt, and died January, 1880. Morton B. Rolfe, born August 11, 1832. now lives in Florida. Fitz C. Rolfe, born February 8, 1834, and Frank M. Rolfe, now living in Ohio, complete the list.

Archelaus Cummings is another of those who for many years were well known in Colebrook. He was born in Temple, January 11, 1809, and in his boyhood came to Pittsburg. When he was twenty-two years of age he married Mary Fletcher, sister of Hiram A. Fletcher, and lived in Canaan, Vt., till 1841, when he came to Colebrook and engaged in the shoe and leather business, which he carried on successfully for fifteen years. In 1850 he opened the old hotel on the north side of the Mohawk, and kept it seventeen years. He held the office of deputy sheriff for a long time. He knew everybody far and wide, and anybody wanting information on any subject had only to apply to Archelaus Cummings, and he was sure of learning something to his advantage. He left three children, Edward N., who married Lucretia Merrill, now living in Lynn, Mass .; Augusta P., who married Charles Parsons; and Anna, who married John Bucking- ham, of Boston, Mass.

One of the successful starch manufacturers of Colebrook is Benjamin Gathercole. He was born in England, and came to Colebrook in 1838. He worked out by the month when a young man, and, careful and pru- dent, soon saved means enough to become interested in one of the early starch mills. When the mills became less profitable in Coös county, he built several starch mills in Aroostook county, Me., and, for the last few years, while his home has been in Colebrook, his business has been in Maine. A good citizen and a generous person, those in whom he is interested have abundant reason to be gratified.

Levi O. Hicks was born in Dalton, October 18, 1808, and came to Cole- brook nearly sixty years ago. His wife, Betsey, was the daughter of Ben- jamin Jordan, a soldier of the Revolution. The venerable couple lived together fifty-eight years and six months. They had eleven children, of whom ten are still living, nine of them in Colebrook. Levi O. Hicks was an obliging neighbor and good citizen.

A few old documents are appended to this chapter to show the differ- ence between then and now.

" No. 6. Certificate of duty paid at one dollar.

" This is to certify that Samuel Pratt of the town of Colebrook in the County of Coos in the fifth collec- tion district of New Hampshire has paid the duty of one dollar for the year 1816, for and upon a four wheel

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TOWN OF COLEBROOK.

carriage called a single waggon owned by him and the harness used therefor. This certificate to be of no avail any longer than the aforesaid carriage shall be owned by the said Pratt unless said certificate shall be produced to a collector and an entry be made thereon, specifying the name of the then owner of said carriage, and the time when became possessed thereof.

"Given in conformity with the laws of the United States this 4th day of March 1816.

'Sam'l A. Dennet. "Collector of the Revenue "for the fifth collection "district of New Hamp- "shire."

"L. S. State of New Hampshire Coos, ss.

"To Asa Stoddard, surveyor of the Holmes Ilill district in the town of Colebrook for the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six the name of the State of New Hampshire you are required to notify the several inhabitants of said district named in the list herewith committed to you to work on the highways in said district under your direction until they have paid the sums respectively set against them in the list aforesaid at the following prices. For every man at the rate of ten cents an hour, and for each yoke of oxen ineluding necessary tools at the rate of seventy-five cents per day, earts, ploughs, &c., are left disere- tionary with the surveyor to determine the price per day and you are to cause said work to be applied to the repairs of the highways in said district when and where it may be most usefully applied.

* * * * *

* * *

"Given under our hands and seal this twenty-ninth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty.

Selectmen

" Albert Pitkin "Lyman Lumbard "Jonas Mills Colebrook." of

Names.

Highway Tax. .56

"Carr, Daniel

** Little, Caleb 2d

2.06

"Little, Moody 1.93

"Little, Thomas J.

1.25

"Little, Ebenezer

3.67

"Stoddard, Asa

1 10

" Teal, Benjamin

1.12

"The foregoing is a list of the assessment of the Highway Tax for the year 1830 on the polls and ratable estate of the inhabitants and residents of Colebrook in the highway district limited as follows. viz. Begin- ning at the east bank of Swamp brook, so-called, on the north road and extending east to the town line. Committed to Asa Stoddard, Collector, April 29, 1830.

" Colebrook, June 12, 1830.

"In pursuance of the foregoing warrant, I have notifyed the within named inhabitants and they have appeared and honorably worked out their tax set to their respective names according to the foregoing tax bill.

" Asa Stoddard " Highway Surveyor."

Either times are changed or Mr. Stoddard's idea of honorably working the tax was leaning on a hoe-handle, as that is the way a large part of the tax is worked at the present time.

On the inside cover of a copy of "The Mothers' Magazine " for Febru- ary, 1533, is pasted a slip, a copy of which follows :-

"Mrs. M. Mills, Mrs. Chamberlain, Mrs. Jewell, Mrs. M. Rolph, Mrs. White, Mrs. Messer. Mrs. Eames, Mrs. Parsons, Mrs. Crosby, Mrs. Lombard, Mrs. Beach, Mrs. N. Mills, Mrs. A. T. Bradford.

"Each lady on reading this book will please to eross out her name and pass it to the next."

"A. Pitkin Selectmen § Colebrook." of "Jonas Mills

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

CHAPTER LXVIII.

Civil List-Selectmen, Treasurers, Collectors, Town Clerks and Representatives-Conclusion.

T HE civil list of Colebrook is very imperfect, owing to the fact that the records of the town were all burned in the disastrous fire of 1870. As far as it can be ascertained it is as follows, the earliest being that of 1801 :-

Selectmen .- 1801. James Hugh, Charles Thompson, Joseph Loomis; 1815, Daniel Harvey, Ozias Bis- sell. John C. Titus; 1816. Daniel Harvey, Joseph Loomis. Mark Aldrich; 1817, Joseph Loomis, Daniel Har- vey, Mark Aldrich; 1818, Hezekiah Parsons, Samuel Porter, John Corey; 1819, Hezekiah Parsons, Samuel Porter, John Corey; 1820. David L. Isham, Joseph Loomis, Harvey Barns; 1821, David L. Isham, Nathan Beecher; 1822, Hezekiah Parsons, Daniel Harvey. Jonas Rolfe; 1823, Edmund Chamberlain, Harvey Barns. Daniel Harvey; 1824, Hezekiah Parsons, Edmund Chamberlain, Harvey Barns; 1825, E. Chamberlain, Daniel Harvey; 1826, E. Chamberlain, Daniel Harvey, Harvey Barns; 1827, William Halkins, Moses Johnson, Daniel G. Hutchinson; 1828, Edmund Chamberlain, Daniel Harvey, Harvey Barns; 1829, Daniel Harvey, Harvey Barns, Caleb Titus; 1830. Lyman Lombard. Jonas Mills, Albert Pitkin: 1831, Albert Pitkin, Lyman Lombard, Jonas Mills; 1835, Lyman Lombard, Gilman Corser; 1838, Benjamin Whittemore, Hezekiah Parsons, Jr., Rufus Read; 1839, Benjamin Whittemore, Hezekiah Parsons. Jr., Rufus Read; 1840, Moses Johnson, D. G. Hutchinson. Nathaniel Kenison; 1841, Moses Johnson, D. G. Hutchinson, Nathaniel Kenison; 1842, Daniel G. Hutchinson, Thomas Severance. George W. Vesper; 1843, Thomas Severance, Benjamin Whittemore, Mil- ton Harvey; 1844. Benjamin Whittemore, Milton Harvey, Amos W. Drew; 1845, Benjamin Whittemore Mil- ton Harvey, Amos W. Drew; 1846, Benjamin Whittemore, Milton Harvey. Amos W. Drew; 1847, Amos W. Drew, Nathaniel Kenison, Aaron Gould; 1848, Amos W. Drew, Nathaniel Kenison, Aaron Gould; 1849, Ben- jamin Whittemore, John C. Bean, Rufus Read; 1850, John Fletcher. Merritt Gilkey, Alfred Lovering; 1851, John Fletcher, Merritt Gilkey, Alfred Lovering; 1852, Milton Harvey, Hazen Bedel, Hezekiah Parsons, Jr .; 1853, H. Bedel, H. Parsons, Jr., Milton Harvey; 1854, Benjamin Whittemore, Daniel C. Bumford, Charles H. Thompson; 1855, Benjamin Whittemore, Daniel C. Bumford, Charles H. Thompson; 1856, Benjamin Whitte- more, Daniel C. Bumford. John Fletcher; 1857, Daniel C. Bumford, John Fletcher, Alfred Lovering: 1858, Alfred Lovering, Daniel C. Bumford, John Fletcher; 1859, Daniel Fletcher, John Brackett, Milton Harvey; 1860, Milton Harvey, John Brackett, Daniel Fletcher; 1861, Simeon Cross, Henry E. Wiggin, Hiram Titus; 1862, Simeon Cross, Henry E. Wiggin, Hiram Titus; 1863, Samuel P. Pitkin, David Heath, Alfred Lovering; 1864, Samuel P. Pitkin, David IIeath, Albert S. Eustis; 1865, David Heath, Albert S. Eustis, Chester B. Jor- dan; 1866, David Heath, Seneca S. Merrill, Hezekiah Parsons; 1867, George S. Leavitt, Chester B. Jordan, Seneca S. Merrill; 1868, Ira Young, Freeman P. Covell, Loring G. Piper; 1869, Ira Young. Freeman P. Co- vell, Loring (r. Piper; 1870, Loring G. Piper, Sidney B. Whittemore, William H. Mulliken; 1871, S. B. Whitte- more, W. H. Mulliken, H. W. Woodrow; 1872, H. W. Woodrow. J. F. Atherton, Alba C. Hicks; 1873, James F. Atherton, Alba C. Hicks, Joseph E. Lombard; 1874, J. E. Lombard, Charles Tucker, John S. Capen; 1875, Charles Tucker, John S. Capen, Henry W. Woodrow; 1876, Joseph W. Cooper, S. K. Remich, Milton Harri- man; 1877, Milton Harriman, Ransom Harriman, Robert G. Jameson; 1878, Ransom Harriman, George S. Leavitt, Samuel T. Noyes; 1879, Sidney B. Whittemore, Dan Fletcher, Freeman P. Covell: 1880, Sidney B. Whittemore, Dan Fletcher, Freeman P. Covell; 1881, S. B. Whittemore, F. P. Covell, Dan Fletcher; 1882, H. W. Woodrow. S. B. Whittemore, John S. Capen; 1883; H. W. Woodrow, J. S. Capen, John Gould; 1884, John Gould, W. H. Mulliken, F. P. Covell: 1885. W. H. Mulliken, F. P. Covell, J. A. Gould; 1886, W. H. Mnl- liken, F. P. Covell. J. A. Gould; 1887. J. A. Gould, G. W. Martin, Daniel Stevens.

Collectors .- 1803-1808. Daniel Harvey; 1809-11. Edmund Chamberlain: 1812-15, David Bissell; 1816, Caleb Titus: 1817-18, Lewis Loomis; 1819-20. David Bissell; 1821, Caleb Titus; 1826-28, David Bissell; 1829-30, J. M. Hilliard: 1831, David Bissell; 1842-43, H. Parsons, Jr. ; 1845-47, Hobart Noyes; 1848-50, H. Parsons, Jr .; 1861, David Heath; 1863, B. R. Gilman; 1864, J. E. Lombard; 1865-67, F. P. Covell; 1868-69, J. F. Atherton; 1870, S. S. Merrill: 1871, HI. M. Leavitt: 1872-73, Robert Gathercole; 1874, W. H. Mulliken; 1875-79, H. M. Leavitt; 1880 81, E. P. Hicks; 1882, F. P. Covell: 1883-85, S. B. Whittemore; 1886-87, R. G. Jameson.

Treasurers .- 1825, Jonas Rolfe; 1826, Abel Hyde; 1827, Jonas Rolfe; 1828, Abel Hyde; 1829, Jonas Rolfe; 1863, J. A. Pitkin; 1864-67, A. S. Eustis; 1868-75, H. Bedel; 1876-78, Charles Colby; 1879-82, Wesley Went- worth; 1883-87, W. E. Drew.

627

TOWN OF COLEBROOK.

Town Clerks .- 1821-22, Lyman Lombard; 1823, Jonas Rolfe; 1826, Jonas Rolfe; 1830, F. G. Messer; 1831. -- Cargill; 1832, IIezekiah Parsons, Jr .; 1835-36, Hezekiah Parsons, Jr .; 1837-59, Jonas Rolfe; 1860-61, E. D. Hutchinson; 1862, E. N. Cummings; 1863-64, C. P. Garfield; 1865-68, E. H. Williams; 1869-70, J. H. Dudley; 1871-74, M. S. Marshall; 1875, L. A. Lovering; 1876-82, H. B. Parsons; 1883-87, D. E. Cummings.

Representatives .- 1807, Hezekiah Parsons; 1808-10, Jeremiah Eames; 1811, Charles Thompson; 1812-13, Jeremiah Eames; 1814, Edmund Keazer; 1815-16. Jared Cone; 1817-18, Hezekiah Parsons; 1819-20, Samuel Pratt; 1821, Jeremiah Eames; 1822-23, Lewis Loomis; 1824-25, Ephraim H. Malmrin; 1826-27, Hezekiah Par- sons; 1828, Abram Boynton; 1829, Roswell Hobart; 1830-31, William Holkins; 1832, Abram Boynton; 1833, Jonas Mills; 1834, Abram Boynton: 1835, Hezekiah Parsons; 1836, Roswell Hobart; 1837-38, Samuel Drown; 1839-40, Benjamin Whittemore; 1841-42, Moses Johnson; 1843, Samuel Drown; 1844, Hezekiah Parsons, Jr .; 1845, Thomas Severance; 1846, Hezekiah Parsons, Jr .; 1847-48, Amos W. Drew; 1849-50, Charles H. Thomp- son; 1851-52. Lyman Lombard; 1853-54, Hazen Bedel; 1855-56, Benjamin Whittemore; 1857-58, Jonas Rolfe; 1859-60, Daniel Fletcher; 1861, Ethan Colby; 1862-63, Erasmus D. Hutchinson; 1864-65, Augustus Harris; 1866, David Heath; 1867, Joseph E. Lombard; 1868, Albert S. Eustis; 1869-70, William S. Rolfe; 1871, J. E. Lombard; 1872-73, Sherburn R. Merrill; 1874-75, Daniel E. Cummings; 1876, Albert S. Eustis, Francis B. Crawford; 1877, David Heath, William H. Shurtleff; 1878-79, Benjamin Drew; 1880-81, Seneca S. Merrill; 1882-83, Loring G. Piper; 1884-85, Sidney B. Whittemore; 1886-87, Henry W. Woodrow.

There are many, many others who were identified with the early his- tory of Colebrook, and who helped to make the town what it is, whom I would gladly mention with particularity, but lack of data compels me to pass them by.

In closing, I desire to extend my thanks to Mrs. Benjamin Gilman and Miss Annie Gilman for their important assistance in looking up the old papers belonging to the late Albert Pitkin; to Rev. C. A. Curtis and Rev. Claudius Byrne, for information in regard to their respective churches, and to the many others who have so willingly aided me in getting together this desultory history of Colebrook.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

THE PARSONS FAMILY .*

The Parsons' families that were among the early settlers of Coos and adjoining counties, and are found in many localities in New England, seem to have descended from a common ancestor, Thomas Parsons, of Great Milton. Oxfordshire, England, who married, October 19, 1555, Katherine Hester, and was buried May 23, 1597. His second son, Hugh, was bap- tized November 23, 1563. He married Elizabeth (Bagshaw) Thomkins. Deacon Benjamin Parsons, tenth child of Hugh, was baptized March 17, 1627, and came to Massachusetts with an older brother, Hugh, before 1645, tradition says in the " Mayflower." Deacon Benjamin settled in Springfield, Mass., and married Sarah, daughter of Richard Vore, of Windsor, Conn., November 6, 1653. He died August 24, 1689. His fifth child, Samuel Parsons, was born October 10, 1666, and, March 18, 1683, married Hannah

* By James I. Parsons, Esq.

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HISTORY OF COOS COUNTY.

Hitchcock, daughter of John and Hannah (Chapin) Hitchcock, of Spring- field. She was born September 10, 1668, and died July 17, 1748, at En- field, Conn., where her husband had died February 17, 1736. Their fifth son, Capt. Hezekiah Parsons, was born at Enfield April 13, 1698, and died there July 11. 1748. He married Rebecca Burt, (who died November 18. 1724,) by whom he had a daughter. He then married Anna Evans, who died May 3, 1744, by whom he had seven children, the oldest of whom, Capt. Hezekiah Parsons, was born in 1728, at Enfield, where he died August 24, 1813. He married, January 23, 1748, Sarah (Abbe) Chapin, daughter of Thomas Abbe, and widow of Nathaniel Chapin. She died May 12, 1785.

He had four sons by his second wife, of whom the oldest two were Hezekiah (3d), born February 3, [February 15, N. S.] 1752: and Major Jabez Parsons, born July 16, 1754. Major Jabez Parsons early became interested in this section of New Hampshire, and was mainly instrumental in getting a considerable immigration to it. He had a mill, and Hezekiah did work for him in it in 1796 and 1797. He married Martha Terry, and an aunt, Sarah Parsons, had married a Mr. Terry. He and his elder brother, two or three families of the Terrys, including his aunt's family, an uncle, an elderly man named Jonathan Parsons, and his wife Triphena (Bement), and his son, Jonathan, Jr., with a large family, and a Mr. Be- ment and Joseph Goddard, who married Sarah, daughter of Jonathan Parsons, were among the early settlers of Colebrook and Columbia. Jon- athan Parsons, Sr., soon died, and with his wife have the earliest head- stones in the Colebrook cemetery, marked "T. Parsons" and "J. Par- sons," made from the native rock by a younger son. They lived on the Charles Thompson farm. Goddard lived opposite E. G. Arlins, the Ter- rys all probably in Columbia, Jabez Parsons on the Edmund Chamberlain farm, while Hezekiah Parsons, grandfather of George, lived on the farm George Parsons now owns. He was Hezekiah Parsons 3d, but the fourth of the name; the first bearing the name being an uncle of his grandfather. He was born in 1732, and married Margaret Kibbee, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Terry) Kibbee, of Enfield, Conn, a niece of Jacob Terry, and cousin of Mrs. Jabez Parsons, in 1775. They moved from Enfield to Colebrook in 1789, bringing with them five sons, all the children they ever had who lived beyond infancy. They buried one son before they left Enfield, and one son was born in Colebrook, July 6, 1793, and was buried in the first burying-ground, on the knoll easterly of the village school-house, as were many who now occupy the unmarked (or earliest marked) graves in our cemetery, to which the dead were moved from that cemetery, and from the one between W. E. Drew's store and the Mohawk. He was the first boy, and perhaps the first white child born in Colebrook. The five sons, all born at Enfield, were Hezekiah, born May 29, 1776, who died in Colum-

Hapticke Parsons,

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TOWN OF COLEBROOK.

bia, N. H., January 11, 1857; Abdiel, born May 4, 1779, died at Quincy, Ill., May 12, 1851: George, born April 10, 1751, died at Warren, Ohio, August 2, 1866; Samuel Burt, born November 27, 1753, died at Rosendale (?), Wisconsin, about 1860; Jeremiah, born September 17, 1787, died at Philadelphia, July 7, 1877. The older sons, especially George (who became very wealthy), were remarkable for the generous assistance they gave to their relatives by birth or marriage, and to each other when needed, and all of them in their last years were equally inclined to aid all their descend- ants, who were quite numerous. Jeremiah left Colebrook in 1806 and never returned. The others left about the same time but returned on acca- sional visits. Their father first built a log-house, and soon, a two-story frame house a few rods north of the Columbia line, on the east side of the river road. He sold the farm to his son Hezekiah, and returned to Enfield in the fall of 1799, or soon after. He died suddenly, March 17, 1508, at Thompsonville, Conn. His wife and children continued their home in Colebrook. The second son, about 1800, went on to another farm, from which he emigrated to the west about 1810. The others went to school, while the mother remained at the head of the house, and, to a considera- ble degree, of the farm. She also attended to her professional duties. She was, from her first settlement here, known as " Granny Parsons, the Doctor," and continued to practice for a quarter of a century, until she moved away in 1815; and, upon her horse at all times and seasons, was a familiar sight to the early settlers of this and all the adjoining towns. For a long time the only doctor, she retained a considerable portion of cer- tain branches of the practice after regular physicians had located here. She married Samuel Leavitt about 1817, and died at Warren, Ohio, March 5, 1841. She had a brother, Gaius Kibbee, who brought his family to Co- lumbia in the fall of 1797, but probably settled there earlier himself. He soon moved to Bloomfield, Vt., where he had considerable real estate, and was prominent in business and town affairs as his family was socially.

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History of Coos County, New Hampshire, Part 74

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Syracuse [N.Y.] : W. A. Fergusson
Number of Pages: 1194